Civic

Lockdown tensions Just a few hours before the 21-day national lockdown started, there was a sudden rush of people trying to return to their hometowns, even though buses and other vehicles were off the roads. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had allowed a final window till Tuesday midnight by lifting the ban on inter-district movement that had been enforced since Monday. The move was apparently to enable people to celebrate Ugadi, but the rush undid social distancing. Moreover, several thousands were stuck at various toll booths. An official memo signed by the City Police Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao, revealed that passes…

On the isolated Rukmani Devi Street of Valasaravakkam, Chinnaiyan, a conservancy worker parks his tricycle under a large almond tree. The shade of the tree has always been his resting place, where he would catch a break after collecting household waste from six streets. As he opens his lunch box, a routine he has been following for a few years now, two residents turn up and ask him not to sit there. “They did not want me to park the tricycle here as they were afraid I would infect them. I will have to eat at the corner of the…

Predictably, our cities have been preoccupied with little other than the health emergency created by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Please see our complete coverage of  COVID-19 for daily updates, reportage and information resources pertaining to the outbreak. Meanwhile, here are some other urban news this week: Four-lane express-way to come up between Mumbai And Goa A 500-km long expressway along the lines of Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway will be built between Mumbai to Goa as announced by Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Eknath Shinde. The expressway will open up tourism opportunities in the Konkan region and will also generate jobs, he added.…

COVID-19: Two new cases, two quarantine facilities, app to trace contacts A 20-year-old UP man who reached Chennai by train and a  21-year-old student who flew down to Chennai from Dublin tested positive for COVID-19 this week. The two patients were asymptomatic upon arrival and self-reported to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) with symptoms. Health Minister Vijayabaskar tweeted that the patients are stable and being closely monitored. To enable the fight against the virus, two quarantine facilities - Institute of Public Health (IPH), Poonamallee and Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine (GHTM) at Tambaram Sanatorium - have been set up.…

Even as the Pune Municipal Corporation goes full throttle with its Smart City initiatives, the work in progress is causing major problems for Punekars. The most irksome being poor road conditions. Despite several measures taken by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and other civic bodies, Pune’s roads continue to be plagued with potholes, dim-lights, and ill-constructed speed-breakers and dividers. “Commuting via the potholed Choudhary Basti Road in Kharadi has become a nightmare for people, who are risking their lives every day to reach their destinations,” said Kharadi resident Anuradha Dubey.  Satish Mane, a resident from Kondhwa added: “The area sees…

Modernity is yet to fully destroy the centuries old flavours of downtown Srinagar. It is still the place to go to, to sample the real taste of Kashmir, known for its traditional craft skills, its architecture, its spiritual sense from some of Kashmir’s most revered shrines sporting pagoda like roofs, especially the historic Jamia Masjid, the seat of power and religious authority of the Mirwaiz family, whose current head Umar Farooq, delivers the Friday sermons here. And, of course, its bazaars at Borhi Kadal, Zaina Kadal and Mahraj Gunj, named after the Maharajas that ruled Kashmir from 1846 to 1947. …

As much as Rs, 8344 crore was announced for Bengaluru’s development in the latest state Budget presented by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on March 5. Here’s the catch: It is a carry-over of the previous year’s Budget – with an outlay of Rs 8015 crore for Bengaluru --presented by then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. What’s more, it bears a new name. The former’s grants came under the `Chief Minister’s Nava Bengaluru Kriya Scheme’ while Yediyurappa’s allocations for Bengaluru comes under the `Chief Minister’s Nava Nagarottana Scheme’. There are more similarities: From solid waste management to transport, mobility, water supply,…

Coronavirus impact: CSK practice suspended, flights cancelled, KG to Class V shut In view of the coronavirus pandemic, Chennai Super Kings suspended their practice matches at the M A Chidambaram Stadium. IPL 2020 has been postponed till April 15. As the government has issued travel advisories, flights are being cancelled and international passenger arrivals have fallen down by 22- 25%. In addition, officials state that arrivals in the domestic terminal have also fallen significantly. Primary schools across the state will be closed from March 16 to 31 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Additionally, malls and theatres have been ordered…

Five COVID-19 cases reported so far Five COVID-19 cases were reported in Bengaluru as of Thursday. The first case, confirmed on March 9, was that of a 46-year-old IT employee who had travelled from US via Dubai. His wife (47), daughter (13), and a 50-year-old man were added to the list the next day. The fifth case, reported on Thursday, was that of a 26-year-old who returned from Greece. All five patients have all been quarantined in the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD). They are responding well to treatment and are recovering, said RGICD Director C Nagaraj.…

Gairsain to be the new summer capital for Uttarakhand The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand is all set to make Gairsain in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand its new summer capital. Dehradun presently serves as the state capital. The demand for declaring Gairsain as the capital of the state has been gathering momentum since 1990s. Regional political outfits have carried out wide protests for over a decade to put pressure on ruling regimes to declare Gairsain as the capital. CM Trivendra Singh Rawat has dedicated the decision to activists who have been associated with the movement since early 1990s. Gairsain is approximately…